


Together Like Winter and a Sweater

by Geek_and_Nina



Series: Hope Mikaelson Yuletide Event [3]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, hope mikaelson yuletide event
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:07:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geek_and_Nina/pseuds/Geek_and_Nina
Summary: for the 2019 Hope Mikaelson Yuletide EventJosie finds herself alone with Hope Mikaelson over the holiday break. Both of them end up stood up in one manner or anotherTitle from Ho Ho Hopefully by The Maine, my favorite Christmas (kind of) song
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Series: Hope Mikaelson Yuletide Event [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576465
Comments: 4
Kudos: 122





	Together Like Winter and a Sweater

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting the right fic the first time! who's proud of me?
> 
> I love comments and Hope!

Josie curled up on the couch within a nest of notebooks, folders, pens, highlighters, and sticky notes. She was planning to spend her break catching up on all of the schoolwork she missed while off monster fighting. Josie was also plotting a pitch to her father on why it all ought to count for extra credit. Her pajamas were soft and cozy, a fire crackled nearby and maybe she was napping more than she was working. It was a rare occasion for Josie to have the entire Salvatore School to herself.

There was only one bright spot to look forward to in her week. She and Raphael were finally going to give themselves a shot. Josie had spent a ridiculous amount of time putting together an outfit. She gushed to Lizzie for days until her twin set off with their parents for Paris. Josie was glad of something to look forward to and appreciated that Raph was willing to drive all of the ways from North Carolina on their short break just to go on a date with her.

Josie was shaken from her reverie by the sound of a heavy thump and a groan. She shoved her books to the side and placed her hand on the wall of the mansion in case she needed to siphon magic. Her heart pounded. Her palms began to sweat as she braced herself to fight. Strength flowed through Josie. Her heart dropped her throat and back into her chest where she could breathe more easily as soon as she saw Hope’s face, tired and sadder than Josie had seen in a long time.

“Hope! I didn’t know you would be staying here for the break.” Josie said, staring anywhere but at Hope as she brought a blanket to wrap Hope’s naked and shivering form. “Did you have to shift for some reason? I thought you were going back to New Orleans to see your family.”

“I didn’t know I would be staying here. I had to shift after Alaric drove me to the airport so I could get back here. It was a _fucking_ long run. Calling him wasn’t an option when he was on a flight to see your sister and mom. I didn’t know you were still here.” Hope shrugged as though she were unbothered, but Josie could see the pain of being left behind in her eyes, though Hope was doing her best to mask it with sardonic humor.

“What happened to your family?” Josie asked, abandoning her work to accompany Hope up to her room. She didn’t know much about what was going on yet, but she could tell that she shouldn’t leave Hope right now.

“Aunt Rebekah decided that she _was_ going to marry Marcel; on Christmas Eve… in Prague. No one was invited so at least it wasn’t just me.” Hope scoffed as she filled Josie in. “The rest of the family is taking bets on whether or not it’s going to happen. Kol and Davina just had their first baby, so I don’t want to intrude on them and Aunt Freya has gone with Aunt Keelin to visit what is left of _her_ family, and you know how I feel about strangers. That leaves me fresh out of living relatives...though I had considered spending Christmas at my parents’ grave. That might be too depressing even for me, I guess.”

Josie turned around to give Hope privacy while she changed and could hear the tears held back in her choked voice. She had been around for enough of Hope’s shifting accidents that she wasn’t sure why she bothered with turning around and it killed her to hear her in so much pain and be unable to help her. No matter how she had tried not to look, the images and memories were burned into her mind. There was no shaking them either. Josie could feel her heart breaking.

“I’m so sorry, Hope. The rest of my family is coming back on Christmas Eve, pretty late, so we won’t be completely alone on Christmas thankfully. I can keep you company until then. It’ll be one long sleepover. You can even help me get ready for my date with Raphael.” Josie did her best to be comforting, but with her back turned to Hope, she didn’t see how the other girl’s face fell.

“Yeah, that sounds nice, but for now I think I am going to sleep off that marathon I just ran and all of these… _feelings_.” Hope scoffed. “Good night, Josie.”

“If you need me or just want someone to watch cooking shows with, you know where I am. Goodnight, Hope.” Josie offered and hugged her friend more tightly than she ever had before. It pained her to leave Hope there, but Josie turned to go back to her studies and found herself unable to focus.

\-----//////------

Hope and Josie did end up spending a lot of time together. The tribrid was further ahead in school than Josie and helped her to study for classes and even helped her spellwork. The way Hope explained things made it a lot easier to understand than Dorian’s stumbling manner. They watched two full seasons of Cutthroat Kitchen together, then another season of The Great British Bake-off. Hope also began to teach Josie some self-defense to make up for the time as couch potatoes. It was magicless self-defense; teaching Josie how to punch and kick, grapple and escape, even to swing a sword properly at Josie’s special request. Soon she was almost able to hold her own against the strongest magical creature at The Salvatore School. Still, Hope couldn’t make herself forget that Josie had a date coming up… and it wasn’t with her. The younger witch kept mentioning it at the most inopportune times.

\-----/////----

Hope hadn’t meant to follow Josie. She went to write in her journal on the benches in the town square pretty often. Especially at night when it was just a bit nippy out to someone with werewolf blood and freezing to anyone else. Everything felt so much more _alive_ on nights like this. Hope wasn’t going to write there because that was where Josie was having her date with Raphael. She knew for sure that she didn’t have feelings for Josie. She never would have allowed herself that.

Now, Hope sat on a bench in Mystic Falls, hidden from the grill where Josie waited by that big statue of the soldier guy. If she leaned far enough to the left she could get a glimpse of Josie at the table waiting for Raph. Hope tried to avoid taking peeks, but found herself irreconcilably curious. Eventually, she became immersed in the writing until all of the things weighing her down were released onto the page. When Hope finished and closed the journal, she looked up to see Josie still at her table alone and completely crestfallen.

Hope pulled a blanket from her backpack and walked over to drape it around Josie’s shoulders. Her heart was breaking for the other girl. As much as she liked Josie and wished she dared to be the one going out with her on Christmas Eve, she never wanted Josie to be hurt. Hope didn’t try to talk to her, she just went to buy them each a hot chocolate and sat down with the other girl. Her expression was sympathetic, while inside she was plotting Raphael’s murder.

“It’s been about an hour. Are you ready to head home?” Hope asked, her voice soft, afraid that she would be the one to finally make Josie cry. If she saw a single tear, Raph was a dead wolf. No one would ever find the body.

Josette finally finished her drink in one last long pull and tossed it before accepting Hope’s hand. She almost found herself smiling when Hope took her arm and laced it through her own very particularly. It seemed as though Hope didn’t notice herself doing it. In moments like this, Josie remembered that Hope came from the Mikaelson family of ancient Original vampires. She had been raised in a family of aristocrats with real chivalry from medieval times. There was more than just a couple of years separating them.

The ferocity that glittered behind those blue eyes was ingrained in Hope’s DNA, not just learned from years of a particularly heartrending life. Josie found it that much more impressive that Hope remained a gentle and loving person. When they sparred, Josie realized, she never came out of the sessions with a single bruise or scratch. Hope had put work into becoming the best parts of her parents. 

Even though she wasn’t half as torn up about being stood up as Hope seemed to think she was. She had been a bit disappointed by her family’s flight being delayed, so Josie allowed the smaller girl to pile her up with snacks, blankets, and pillows on the couch. She didn’t recognize the movie Hope had put on, though.

“What is this?” Josie asked, sipping from a stolen glass of her father’s bourbon and edging closer to Hope’s side. She was only a bit disappointed when it seemed as though the other girl didn’t even notice the small action.

“It’s something I thought we would both like while still being festive. Anna and the Apocalypse. A musical for you, zombies for me, and it all takes place during the holidays.” Hope grinned wickedly. “It’s kind of hilarious and amazing and perfect.”

Josie scooted closer in a much more obvious manner this time. She reached for Hope’s arm and draped it across her shoulders. She was surprised, but she also seemed to be pleased, even content, with their new position and hugged Josie tight. Hope laughed aloud at all of Josie’s visceral reactions to the movie. After Anna and the Apocalypse, the two witches took turns choosing movies or musicals until Josie fell asleep, laying halfway across Hope. When Caroline, Alaric, and Lizzie came home finally, that was how they found the two.


End file.
